Wednesday, 13 October 2010

Blog of the week: Avoid The Future

Avoid The Future is an incredibly well designed blog 'based on a secret island fortress somewhere between the UK and France' (taken from the about us section of the site). It's great to see a blog that not only seems to have its finger on the pulse of the international small press scene but it also nice to look at too. The writers at ATF wade through the yards and yards of juvenile crap you often find at a comic convention (big breasted super heroines a go-go) to bring you the tastiest looking treats which tell me I've still got a way to go when it comes to knowing my shit about small press comics. But I'm not proud, I'm glad that ATF are out there to fill in the gaps in my knowledge and introduce me to stuff I may have otherwise never found on my own. They also review and interview indie heavy weights such as James Kochalka and Johnny Ryan as well as industry professionals (they seem to have pretty good links with Toronoto based Koyama Press) and comic book shop owners. Their interviews seem pretty well researched, in-depth, and yet with a touch of playful irreverence. Their latest batch of one question interviews will introduce you to a world of lesser known artists and interesting sounding projects (such as a Tintin sketchbook and probably the only appealing comic from Slave Labour Graphics* that's ever caught my eye-Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer). Check out ATFhere.